1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a turret punch press provided with an automatic tool changer.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventionally, a commonly known turret punch press comprises a freely rotatable upper turret for supporting a freely detachable punch; a freely rotatable lower turret for supporting a freely detachable die for processing a plate-type workpiece in conjunction with the punch; a striker with free vertical movement for striking a punch which has been indexed in a work position; and a plate positioning device for moving and positioning a plate workpiece to be processed by the punch and die in the X, Y directions while supported on a work table. Then, from a plurality of punches and dies mounted on the upper and lower turrets, the required punch and die are selected to perform punching operations of various shapes and sizes on the plate workpiece.
However, the number of punches and dies mounted on the upper and lower turrets is limited by the size and the like of the upper and lower turrets. For this reason, a turret punch press provided with a so-called automatic tool changer (ATC) on which a tool magazine and a tool changing device are positioned adjacent to the turret punch press is also well known. At the present time, various types of ATC mechanisms are known, such as a rotary-type tool magazine, a rotary and longitudinally movable system, a cylindrical coordinates-type robot system, and the like.
However, the ATC mechanism in a conventional turret punch press provided with an ATC is very complicated and therefore takes time for preparation and tool changing. Therefore, under existing conditions the desirably short time for preparation and tool changing is not available. As a result, such a mechanism is unable to cope with multi-variety, small volume production automatically and flexibly.